[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madoka_the_rebellion_story_6911.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300: The story isn't over. [[ArcWords Not yet.]]]]

%% This is how the quote formatting is suppose to look: One indent, then dialog, then two indents, then the source. Don't mess with it.->''"I dream of the day when I can finally see your dear smile again."''-->--'''Homura Akemi'''

''Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion'' (subtitled ''Hangyaku no Monogatari''[[note]]''The Rebellion Story''[[/note]] in Japan) is [[TheMovie a feature film]] for the 2011 anime series ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. The movie follows the anime's two-part CompilationMovie released in 2012. Originally intended to be the anime's second season, but changed up into a movie due to issues with length, the movie is a continuation of the series's plot. The film premiered in Japan on October 26, 2013, and the film was later shown with subtitles in select theaters internationally, with an English dub scheduled to be released on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 7, 2015.

The movie will have a [[ComicBookAdaptation manga adaptation]] by Hanokage, who did the manga adaptation for the first anime as well as the SpinOff ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Different Story''. [[Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica Three new]] spin-off manga series [[Manga/PuellaMagiSuzuneMagica also began]] after the movie aired in Japan; see the [[Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica franchise page]] for details.

[[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2013-09-02/kana-asumi-voices-new-magical-girl-in-3rd-madoka-magica-film The movie also introduces a new magical girl named Nagisa Momoe]], voiced by Creator/KanaAsumi in Japanese and Creator/XantheHuynh in English. In addition, there is a new type of monster known as "[[GratuitousEnglish night]][[CreepyDoll mares]]".

----'''LateArrivalSpoiler Warning''': Everything below this section will have unmarked spoilers for the original ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' anime. If you have not watched the anime and do not want to be spoiled, do not read this page. Many examples on this page are shared with the anime. All spoilers may ruin your enjoyment of the story. Again, ''avoiding these pages is highly suggested for those who have not seen the show.'' '''''YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.'''''----

At the end of the original anime, Madoka sacrificed herself and made a wish that changed the world. In this new world, puella magi no longer become the very witches they're fighting. In this new world, puella magi are instead taken away by the "Law of Cycles" before they can become witches. [[RuleOfThree And in this new world]], Madoka, Sayaka, Mami, Kyoko and Homura all fight together to protect the city of Mitakihara from the new threat in place of the witches, the Nightmares.

Wait a minute... that's not how it went! Madoka and Sayaka [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher plane of existence]]! And the new monsters were called ''wraiths''[[note]]"magical beasts" in the original Japanese[[/note]], not Nightmares! And what is that odd creature that looks like the witch Charlotte? Homura soon realizes that things are not what they seem. But she may not want to find the truth, for at the end of it all... is the being that rebels against the order of god.

----!!This anime film provides examples of:

* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Late in the movie [[spoiler:Homura]] admits that if she just stopped and thought about it, she would have realized the truth of the world much earlier. [[spoiler:In fact, throughout the beginning of the movie, Homura's unwillingness to accept help, explain herself, or listen to others causes her trouble and unnecessary conflict with the other magical girls. Homura's rejection of Madoka's sacrifice may also be the result of this.]]** [[spoiler:This makes sense because in the anime, she tried over and over to explain herself to the other magical girls without any results. Eventually she got tired of trying to explain herself and she just started relying on herself. She has become unaccustomed to asking for help. She's was also usually the one holding all the information. In the anime she always knew more than the other girls about what was really going on. This of course is also shown by her witch attribute: self-sufficiency. Homura also spent a better part of the movie confused by her memories since she didn't completely remember everything until the end.]]* AffablyEvil: She might be a [[spoiler:Goddess of Evil]], but [[spoiler:Akuma Homura]] at least creates a world where everyone is happy, [[spoiler:even if she has to kidnap Madoka to do it.]]* AffectionateParody: The beginning of the movie is one to ''Madoka Magica'' {{Fan Work}}s; it has all five magical girls fighting together as a team (something that deliberately never happened in the anime) and even includes Charlotte as a TeamPet. The parody part comes from making everything else kind of ridiculous, from the monsters to the name of the team to the Cake Song. And like Fan Works [[spoiler: it's all fake - in this case, an illusion created by a witch.]]** Compare the beginning of ''Rebellion'' to "[[SliceOfLife Sunny Day Life]]" and "[[BeachEpisode Summer Magical Girl Training Camp!!]]", two of the anime's {{Drama CD}}s. The Drama [=CDs=] are straight {{Fanservice}}, but ''Rebellion'' is just too silly.* AllThereInTheManual** A WordOfGod interview explains that Bebe's name really is Charlotte, but she doesn't say her name and the characters can't read the [[CypherLanguage runes.]] ** Information on the [[spoiler: witches and familiars]] was revealed in a book that came out in December 2013. [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Witches_Artwork See here]], '''but watch out for spoilers'''.* AlternateTimeline: The movie takes place in the new one created at the end of the anime. [[spoiler:And much of it actually takes place in an alternate world (or more specifically, a LotusEaterMachine) of that alternate timeline, to boot!]]* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: {{Deconstructed}}. [[spoiler:The girl is saved, but at what cost?]]** In fact, this is a ContinuityNod to the rather obscure manga spin-off, ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica''. In it, [[spoiler:Madoka states that she will refuse to let herself be saved if it means others are left in danger. Homura's response is to say that Madoka should never tell Homura not to save her]]. Cue the end of this movie, where [[spoiler:Homura says that if Madoka wants to be selfless, then Homura shall become her enemy.]]* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Is anybody a magical girl in the final universe? Is that even a thing anymore? Has Madoka's wish been totally undone and replaced by Homura's undefined system, or does she just not have to oversee it personally as Homura claims?]]** And if there are no more magical girls then [[spoiler: What's her new universe's entropy situation like]] ?* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Of course, this is being ''Madoka Magica'', the Witches still are a problem. But this time TheReveal is exactly ''who'' the Witch is. [[spoiler:When Homura realizes that Mitakihara is just a barrier, she goes after the most blatant Witch in the vicinity, Bebe. After a series of events, she then finds out the Witch is... [[TomatoInTheMirror herself.]]]]* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: In the new world, Madoka is God, [[spoiler:Homura is a Demon]], and the Incubators continue to be unfeeling SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. [[spoiler:But this time, they are fully controlled by Homura.]]* ArcWord: The word "dream" and similar are constantly present. [[spoiler:It's apropiated for a world only existing in a dream.]]** Also, [[spoiler:Not yet.]]* ArtShift: In the manga adaptation, the characters are drawn in a chibi-like style for the Cake Song.* AscendedExtra: Charlotte the Dessert Witch, or Bebe as she's called in the movie. [[spoiler:She's actually Nagisa, the new magical girl.]]** BreakoutCharacter: Not really surprising, given her popularity.* AscendedMeme:** During an interview for the movie, both Creator/AoiYuuki and the interviewer [[http://youtu.be/QhEb1Uzznxo?t=1m29s performed]] the [[Creator/StudioShaft SHAFT]] [[SignatureStyle head-tilt]].*** When the film premiered in America even the [[https://twitter.com/colorinlive/status/408890449026248704/photo/1 English voice actors got in on it!]]** Charlotte was included because the staff noticed the copious amounts of fanart featuring her and Mami, despite being an ordinary (if [[WhamEpisode somewhat important]]) MonsterOfTheWeek in the series proper. ** Depending on the translator, at one point it's mentioned that [[MedukaMeguca "being Hitomi is suffering".]]** Kyubey's line from episode 6, "I just don't get it," became one of the common responses in Japan to all the NonSequitur Madoka [[{{Parody}} parodies]]. Here it is [[spoiler:[[SpeakInUnison spoken in unison]] by countless Incubators as they are [[RainOfArrows shot by Madoka and Homura]].]]** The manga adaptation includes the following line in an {{Omake}}, based off a memetic phrase:-->''You thought it was Madoka? Too bad, it was Miki Sayaka!''* AwardBaitSong: Kalafina's "Kimi no Gin no Niwa" (Your Silver Garden), played during the end credits. A bit different than most examples, since it's a power ballad rather than a soft/romantic one, and [[spoiler:the lyrics are more sinister than one would expect.]]* AwfulTruth: Homura, the Witch you are looking for is [[spoiler:[[TomatoInTheMirror yourself.]]]]* BackFromTheDead: Madoka, sort of, and Sayaka, at the beginning of the movie. [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, this applies to everyone.]]* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil[=/=]EquivalentExchange: Although not explicitly stated, one can argue that ''Rebellion'' takes the anime's balance between hope and despair and wishes and curses to it's LogicalExtreme. [[spoiler:Madoka's ascension as a god causes the birth of a devil... and it's ''Homura''. Somewhat mitigated by the fact that Akuma Homura uses ThePowerOfLove, not despair; however, one can still draw opposites given that Ultimate Madoka can stand for selfless love, and Akuma Homura stands for selfish love, and both loves have opposing ties to hope and despair respectively.]]* {{Ballet}}: Apparently, Madoka idealized Homura as a ballerina, because Homura seems to have an overarching "ballet" motif throughout the picture.* [[BashBrothers Bash Sisters]]:** Sayaka and Kyoko. [[spoiler:They even have Oktavia wield a giant version of Kyoko's spear during the final battle.]] ** Mami and Madoka fight this way during the Nightmare battles and the [[spoiler:Homulilly]] battle, with a new attack called the "Tiro Duet", involving dual ballet dancing with Mami's ribbons before launching a dual attack on the enemy.* BatmanGambit: Mami makes herself immune to [[TimeStandsStill Homura's ability]] by hanging onto her through a ribbon, preventing Homura from shooting it off by partially dematerializing it. Seeing she cannot gain the upper hand, Homura [[spoiler:shoots herself in the head]], causing Mami to materialize the ribbon in an attempt to stop her. Before Mami can react, Homura [[spoiler:wraps the ribbon around the [[BulletTime same (slowing) bullet]] to sever it, finally freezing Mami in stopped time.]]** Except that [[spoiler:Mami actually turns out to be a clone made of Mami's magic ribbons, made to fool and trap Homura if she managed to destroy the clone, and the real Mami was watching the fight from a safe distance.]]* BetaCouple: Kyoko/Sayaka has matured into a balanced and mutual AmbiguouslyGay pairing, and Kyoko manages to accept the fact that Sayaka must [[spoiler:return to the heavens]] without her. Madoka/Homura, on the other hand... [[spoiler:Homura gets fed up with Madoka's blithe, overly-selfless kindness and decides to "protect" her by stealing her powers and using them to become the Devil. OppositesAttract?]]** It's heavily implied that [[spoiler: Sayaka only became aware of Kyoko's feelings ([[LesYay whatever those feelings may be]]) when she became part of the Law of Cycles. This provides a parallel with Madoka and Homura's relationship, where Madoka only became aware of Homura's feelings when she became the Law of Cycles itself. Sayaka expressing regret over leaving Kyoko is the equivalent of the "My very best friend" speech Madoka makes to Homura in the anime.]]* BigBad: Kyubey, as usual. This time, [[spoiler:he traps the Puella Magi in a world of his creation--using Homura as a catalyst--where everyone seems to be living happily in order to advance his plans. However, [[DemotedToDragon Kyubey is usurped of his position]] by none other than ''Homura herself'', becoming GodOfEvil [[SatanicArchetype Akuma Homura]] in the process, the opposite to Ultimate Madoka.]]* BigBadassBattleSequence: The climactic battle with [[spoiler:Homulilly. She summons an army of familiars... so Sayaka summons an army of her own.]] All while Kalafina's "misterioso" is playing.* BigBudgetBeefUp: A rare case with [[HandWave explanations]], everybody except [[spoiler:[[BroughtDownToNormal Madoka]]]] as they face [[spoiler:Homulilly, Homura's Witch form [[CanonImmigrant from the]] [[VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable PSP game]], suitably upgraded from the game with a new dress and Nutcracker-themed familiars.]] Notable is Mami's [[{{BFG}} Tiro Finale]], now upgraded to a towering railway cannon built onto two separate trains that takes out multiple, building-smashing [[GiantMook giant mooks]] in a single shot, and Sayaka's and Kyoko's combo where [[spoiler:Oktavia wields a gigantic version of Kyoko's spear. Homulilly also counts: whereas Walpurgisnacht was an amalgam of multiple witches and Gretchen's power was boosted via Homura's resets, Homulilly is at least as powerful as the former, making it THE most powerful natural-born witch in the series.]]* BigEater: Kyoko. She's eating even while fighting Nightmares. And first thing she mentioned after defeating Hitomi's nightmare? She's hungry after the whole Cake Song! Unlike the anime, this aspect of Kyoko's personality is played for cuteness.* BilingualBonus[=/=]FreezeFrameBonus:** The runes are back in force. Probably the strangest one is during Nagisa's transformation, where what appears to be a recipe to make a magical girl appears. Among other things, its ingredients include [[BreadEggsMilkSquick sugar, pepper sauce, and innocence]]. ([[ShoutOut Which is synonymous with "sugar, spice, and everything nice".]])** The [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/File:The_Nightmare%27s_reflection_1.jpg Nightmare's]] [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/File:The_Nightmare%27s_reflection_2.jpg reflection]] [[TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf is animated differently from the Nightmare itself.]]** At one point [[spoiler:Homura's familiars]] state "Gott ist tot!" in a very cheerful way. German speakers and [[Creator/FriedrichNietzsche Nietzsche]] enthusiasts will note that this means "God is dead!", making the things even creepier than before.*** Later on [[spoiler: when the fake Mitakihara blows up]] there are voices saying "[[http://www.answers.com/topic/fort-da Fort!]] [[http://personal.bgsu.edu/~dcallen/Fort-Da.html Da!]]", which is a reference to a story by SigmundFreud about a boy who made a game of throwing away his toys.** [[invoked]]The ending has [[spoiler:[[FridgeHorror ''Who is dreaming?'']] (which was changed to ''Who has dreamt?'' in the home release).]]* BittersweetEnding: On one hand, [[spoiler:EverybodyLives, Kyubey gets a bigger shaft than he got last time, and Homura attains her goal of saving Madoka after failing beforehand]]. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Homura essentially becomes a GodOfEvil, destroys the Law of Cycles that Madoka created, and imprisons Madoka and suppresses her goddess powers, along with Sayaka's own new powers.]]** [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Madoka became a victim of this as described above.]]* BlackBugRoom: [[spoiler:Madoka reaches Homura's after punching through the outer shell of Homulilly's barrier. Within it, Homura is constantly reliving all the times Madoka died fighting Walpurgisnacht.]]* BodyguardingABadass: [[spoiler:Sayaka and Nagisa]] act as Madoka's helpers and, at times, protectors, even though the latter is a PhysicalGod; though this is so that they can [[spoiler:confound the Incubators' attempt to capture Madoka]]. Deconstructed by [[spoiler:Homura, who decides to become an evil RealityWarper so that she can suppress Madoka's powers and become her guardian]].* BookEnds: The opening scene prior to the opening credits plays the song "Made Dame Yo." The post-credits scene at the end features a wordless, accordion-only version of said song. ** Homura is involved in another classroom introduction at both the beginning of the movie and the end of the movie.* BoomHeadshot: Homura does this [[spoiler:''to herself'' as part of her fight against Mami. It shocks Mami into letting down her guard, which is exactly what Homura intended: after all, magical girls [[TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain don't have to worry about details like having half their head shot away]], and Homura uses the same bullet to cut through the ribbon linking her to Mami, enabling her to stop time again on her own.]] For the next few scenes, though, [[spoiler:Homura goes about with half her head still splattered in blood and brains, a not-very-subtle warning about her deteriorating mental state.]]* BossWarningSiren: [[spoiler:Homulilly]]'s appearance is [[DarkestHour major]] enough to cause a countdown like [[CallBack Walpurgisnacht's arrival]]. But instead of one magical girl facing down a hopeless fight, it is intercut with shots of [[spoiler:her friends [[BigDamnHeroes gathering to save her]].]]* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:Everyone sucked into Homura's witch barrier--including Homura herself--is brainwashed into living their ideal life. While Madoka has also lost her memories, she has actually done this consciously to fool Kyubey. Sayaka and Nagisa, meanwhile, keep their memories and are just playing along, as is Kyubey. For everyone except the veteran trio, the opening is basically a big game of make-believe so that the heroes don't notice anything's up with the villains, and vice-versa.]]* BreakThemByTalking: [[spoiler:Kyubey]] tries to talk [[spoiler:Homura]] into [[spoiler:summoning Ultimate Madoka]]. [[spoiler:It backfires on him in the most spectacular way possible.]]* BreakingTheFourthWall: The beginning of the movie has a sign saying "[[{{Engrish}} Welcome to Cinema.]]" Midway through the film there's another sign that says "Do you enjoy the movie?" These messages actually have a kind of in-universe meaning. The first message appears when the first nightmare arrives, and the nightmares are later revealed to be [[spoiler:intentionally harmless monsters meant to entertain the magical girls]]. In other words, the Nightmares are [[spoiler:just part of a puppet show]]. The second message appears after Homura is asked if [[spoiler:she wants to destroy the LotusEaterMachine]]; the sign is asking Homura if [[spoiler:she enjoys the false world.]]* BridalCarry** Madoka carries Nagisa and [[spoiler:a couple of Pyotr]] like this in the [[spoiler:Homulilly]] battle, away from an attacking Clara Doll.** Sayaka does this to Homura, after the former rescues the latter from being tied up with Mami's ribbons.* BroughtDownToNormal** [[spoiler:Madoka]], in the [[spoiler:fake Mitakihara world]], due to [[spoiler:giving her powers and memories to Sayaka and Nagisa as protection, so the Incubators aren't able to capture her]].** By the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Madoka is brought down completely, due to Akuma Homura suppressing her goddess powers.]]*** [[spoiler:Also happens to Sayaka and Nagisa too.]] Although not explicitly stated, one interpretation is that [[spoiler:Homura has created a world without magical girls, or a system where she takes care of the monsters herself, instead of having magical girls to do so.]]* CallBack:** The beginning of the movie after Madoka wakes up is pretty much one big reference to Episode 1 of the anime. Kazuko even calls on the same student.** Sayaka distracts Mami with a fire extinguisher at one point, like she did to Homura in Episode 1.** During the climactic final battle Kyoko tells Sayaka [[spoiler:that she had a dream where Sayaka died, but then admits that the dream was reality and the world they're in now is the dream. Meanwhile, Oktavia flies behind them.]] Not only does this refer to the scene between Madoka and Homura in the flower field (where Homura [[IHaveThisFriend "claimed" to have a similar dream]]), it also refers to a scene in Kyoko's battle against Oktavia in the anime, where she begs God for a happy dream before she dies.** At the end of the anime Madoka gives Homura her [[TragicKeepsake hair ribbon]]. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie Homura gives it back.]]*** On that note, go back to the anime's first episode. Madoka decides to wear the red ribbon instead of a yellow one. [[spoiler: At the end of ''Rebellion'' Madoka wears the ribbon not taken.]]*** And adding to that, [[spoiler:when Homura re-ties Madoka's pigtails in the red ribbons, she says that they really do look better, referencing Junko's line in the first episode about the red ones being more attractive]].** At the end, [[spoiler: Sayaka's "I'll never forget" echoes the final line of Homura herself from the original series.]]* CallingYourAttacks: Not only Mami now, but everyone except Homura does it too!* CanonImmigrant: [[spoiler:Homulilly]] from ''VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable''. She got a complete redesign and a suitable expansion for the movie. [[spoiler: Also she's now the Nutcracker Witch instead of the Witch of the Mortal World...though the latter still fits the events of the movie.]]** The changes to [[spoiler:Homulilly]] may be justified by the fact that [[spoiler:Kyubey was experimenting with Homura to bring about her witch form, or that Homura's source of despair shifted,]] which is very well possible, considering the events of the film.* CerebusCallback:** The "Luminous" opening of the first two movies featured Homura and Madoka sitting in two chairs next to each other, being completely adorable. During [[spoiler:Homura's Witch transformation]], this moment gets twisted into a representation of [[spoiler:Homura's feelings towards failing to save Madoka, with Madoka falling from her chair and dissolving before Homura can reach her.]] In TheStinger, [[spoiler: Akuma Homura is seen sitting in the chair again...[[RuleOfSymbolism next to a cliff.]] Then she gets up, dances around and purposely tilts off the edge of the cliff.]]** Everybody gets thematic dance numbers as part of their [[LighterAndSofter extra whimsical]] TransformationSequence this time around, with Homura doing ballet. [[spoiler:When revealed as a Witch, Homura's familiars channel her torment by reenacting ''TheNutcracker''.]]** The message from the end of the anime: "As long as you remember her, you are not alone". [[spoiler: During the movie, Homura says that she began to think her memories of Madoka weren't real. In other words, Homura forgets Madoka, and she is alone.]]** Homura telling Kyubey about the way things were before Madoka's sacrifice at the end of Episode 12 is implied to be the reason why [[spoiler:the Incubators try to take over the Law of Cycle]].** In the end of the anime's manga adaptation, Madoka welcomed Homura, back in her braids and glasses, to heaven. In the movie's manga adaptation, when Homura walks with Madoka to said heaven, [[spoiler:her movie self, who is succumbing to her Witch transformation, shoots her happier self in the head as symbolic rejection of Madoka's salvation.]]* CerebusSyndrome: The movie starts out even LighterAndSofter than the anime pretended to be, then quickly delves back into the dark and MindScrew themes that the anime was known for.* ChekhovsSkill: Mami's ribbons sure compliment Homura's power during their display of [[TeamSpirit teamwork]]... which comes back to bite them in their duel-off.* ConspicuousCG: The spinning soul gem right in the beginning stands out a bit too well against the dark hand-drawn background.* ContinuityNod:** One of the pictures of Bebe in Mami's house has her look exactly like Charlotte. Going by information given in the Witches' Booklet, this is supposed to be a picture of Bebe before she became her current form seen in the movie.** Recall in episode 1 of the anime, where Sayaka uses a fire extinguisher to distract Homura. [[spoiler: In the movie, Sayaka uses another fire extinguisher to ''save'' Homura.]]** In the climatic battle against [[spoiler:Homulilly]], when Sayaka [[spoiler:summons Oktavia and other Witches' familiars,]] Sayaka is depicted in silhouette style with a blue outline, the same style as Elsa Maria's barrier form the anime. The locations even resemble one another, with the same white stained glass-like sky, and completely black land. Both times the monochromatic atmosphere is used to hide the extent of Sayaka's injuries, though the circumstances of said injuries are rather different.*** Sayaka [[spoiler:pierces her heart with a sword as depicted on Oktavia's waist armor]]. Her pose when conducting [[spoiler:the familiar army is the same as Holger, one of her Witch's familiars.]]** In the [[ComicBookAdaptation manga adaption]], there's a scene where Sayaka strikes a pose with the words "I'm not afraid of anything anymore", a reference to a moment from Episode 3.* CooldownHug:** Madoka to Homura, while the former gives the latter a YouAreNotAlone speech amidst a field of flowers. She even starts braiding Homura's hair.** And from the ending, [[spoiler: Akuma Homura prevents Madoka from reawakening her goddess powers by hugging her]], in what is possibly a darker CallBack to the above scene.* CoolVersusAwesome: ** We never really got to see what would happen if Homura and Mami threw down in the anime. Here, though, they stand off against each other in a gunfight of epic proportions.** In the movie's climax, we get to see the first-ever battle between Witches: [[spoiler:Homulilly VS Oktavia von Seckendorff and Charlotte, Familiars included]].* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: While not explicitly stated, it's implied that [[spoiler: this is true for Homura. All the magical girls are willing to help Homura--even Bebe tries to tell Homura the truth--but Homura is only willing to accept Madoka's offer to listen to her feelings. The resulting conversation motivates Homura's FaceHeelTurn.]]** Close analysis of some of the conversations between [[spoiler:Madoka and Homura]] [[PoorCommunicationKills indicate they don't really understand what the other is saying]]. Not surprising, since [[spoiler:this happened all the time in the anime.]] Here are two major ones:*** During ''Rebellion'''s flower field scene, [[spoiler: Homura says that the Madoka she "[[IHaveThisFriend dreamed]]" about went somewhere far away where they could never meet again, [[UnreliableExpositor when in reality she was really everywhere but could not be perceived by others.]](although Homura was talking from ''her'' point of view, where she can't see Madoka despite being the only one who remember her, making her start to even doubt her own memories) The Madoka Homura is talking to gets the wrong impression, and tells Homura she'd never go somewhere far away from everyone...which causes Homura to believe Madoka never wanted to sacrifice herself.]]*** At the end of the climatic battle [[spoiler: Homura tells Madoka that she'll take on any sin, and be reduced to any form, as long as she can be by Madoka's side. It's implied Madoka takes this to mean that Homura wants to be with her forever (and it's possible this is what Homura meant at the time). [[WellIntentionedExtremist Hindsight reveals that she meant something else...]]]]* CoupDeGrace: In the fight between Homura and Mami, Homura catches Mami off guard and uses the opportunity to sever the ribbon that was preventing Mami from being frozen in time. [[spoiler:Homura aims a gun directly at her Soul Gem... but can't go through with it, so she opts to shoot her in the leg. The Mami she shot at was a decoy, however, and then Mami spares her life in return after the decoy explodes into a mess of ribbons that ties up Homura.]]* DancingTheme:** The intro has the other magical girls dancing around a despairing Homura. The Puella Magi Holy Quintet's transformation sequences are all different dances. The ending has [[spoiler:Homura learning to dance with Madoka.]] In TheStinger, [[spoiler:Homura dances alone.]]** The Puella Magi all have a different dance in their transformation sequences: Figure skating for Mami, Bollywood for Kyoko, hip-hop for Sayaka, interpretive dance for Homura, and para para for Madoka.* DarkerAndEdgier: Despite the sugary FakeOutOpening, the movie shows itself to be even ''darker'' than the anime, as it deals with [[spoiler:the powerful, seemingly unbreakable heroic Homura being broken to the point where she can't help but go insane and become a GodOfEvil, ''usurping Kyubey and the previous benevolent goddess Ultimate Madoka and stripping her of her powers.'']]* DarkMessiah: Madoka might be the messiah for magical girls, [[spoiler:but Homura is the messiah for Madoka herself. [[EntitledToHaveYou She goes to great,]] ''[[WellIntentionedExtremist great]]'' [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy lengths to make sure Madoka can't be harmed]].]]** DuelingMessiahs: [[spoiler:Akuma Homura]] states that should Madoka continue to prioritize her duty and selflessness over her own desires, [[spoiler:she and Homura]] might end up becoming enemies.* TheDayTheMusicLied: [[spoiler:Homura is saved from being damned by the Law of Cycles forever]], [[spoiler:Ultimate Madoka descends with her heralds Sayaka and Nagisa]], and an arrange of [[spoiler:Sagitta Luminis]] plays... then suddenly the music stops, followed by [[spoiler:the love-corrupted Homura usurping and kidnapping Ultimate Madoka, and rewriting the entire universe.]]* DeadpanSnarker: Kyoko has a few moments like this.-->''(to Kyubey)'' [[spoiler: "Huh. So you ''do'' talk normally."]]* DeathIsTheOnlyOption: Homura, [[spoiler:after finding out Kyubey's plan to capture Madoka and use her to bring back the old system, decides to become a Witch and urges the magical girls to kill her, in order to prevent Ultimate Madoka's arrival.]]* {{Deconstruction}}: But of course. Tears into [[spoiler:ThePowerOfLove even more than the anime.]]** Heck, it can arguably be said to deconstruct [[spoiler:the anime's own ending.]]** [[invoked]]On a more meta level, it also deconstructs a lot of the elements that the fanbase tends to focus on, such as the LesYay subtext, memes, and the slice-of-life aspects of the show. [[spoiler:The ending is especially brutal in its tearing down of the expectations that fans have toward the series.]] To expand on this:*** As noted under AffectionateParody, the beginning of the movie references {{Fan Work}}s that depict the characters working together in a less horrible setting. The setting presented in the beginning of ''Rebellion'' is so saccharine that it becomes ridiculous. The characters have over-the-top transformation sequences and attacks, and they defeat the monsters by singing and feeding them food. The presence of Charlotte and Kyubey as harmless mascots is both funny and disturbing given their villainous roles in the anime. [[spoiler: The whole thing turns out to be an illusion created by a witch - in other words, it's like a FanWork ''in-universe''.]]*** [[TookALevelInKindness Kyoko is kinder and friendlier]]. Mami is not alone. Homura has been returned to her original personality. All common in {{Fan Work}}s. [[spoiler: All caused in ''Rebellion'' by FakeMemories.]]*** [[invoked]] A number of people dislike Hitomi for how she acted in the anime. In ''Rebellion'' [[spoiler: she turns into a monster for petty, shallow reasons. Hitomi is then purified in a ridculous sequence that turns her into a {{Moe}}[[VisualPun blob]], which references and parodies fan works where Sayaka is returned to normal after her witch transformation.]]*** As noted under CerebusCallback [[spoiler: the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] "Luminous" scene goes from LesYay to MindScrew to overly depressing.]]*** Fans who believed that Homura was the true, perfect hero of the anime. [[spoiler: Homura is the protagonist of ''Rebellion'', but the movie subtly and overtly displays Homura's character flaws: [[IWorkAlone She is unwilling to work with others]], [[PoorCommunicationKills she is unwilling to explain her actions]], she acts impulsively and irrationally, she displays a [[DrivenToSuicide willingness to kill herself]], and finally she's willing to reverse Madoka's decisions if she feels those decisions harm Madoka's life and happiness.]] All of these traits were present in the anime. Heck, it's suggested that [[spoiler: Homura begins questioning her reality because she believes it's TooGoodToBeTrue and she can't accept a world where she's happy.]]*** While we're on the topic of Homura [[spoiler: {{Fan Work}}s often interpret her obsession with Madoka as either romantic or [[MemeticMolester as a]] [[PlayedForLaughs joke]]. The ending of ''Rebellion'' shows Homura's obsession as sad, self-destructive, and horrifying. She even confesses her love to Madoka as she becomes the devil to her goddess.]]*** The ending [[spoiler: deconstructs {{Fix Fic}}s that try to have an EarnYourHappyEnding where EveryoneLives. Both of those things are actually achieved in the movie... but only because Homura usurped Madoka. Like everything in the series, this happy ending has a price.]]* DemotedToDragon: [[spoiler:Kyubey]] becomes this to [[spoiler:Akuma Homura]] by the end of the movie.* DemotedToExtra: While in the anime, the girls' screentime was relatively balanced, the movie is significantly more Homura-centric. Although it allows for developing Homura, it significantly reduces the influence of the other girls. See also FlatCharacter below.* DidntSeeThatComing: Basically, everyone. Including viewers. [[spoiler:Homura becomes the BigBad GodOfEvil Akuma Homura, completely overturning Kyubey and Ultimate Madoka in the process.]] * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: An early scene has Sayaka getting annoyed at Kyoko because "We agreed we'd do it when we got home, but then you just sat around and watched TV!" They're talking about homework, apparently.** Sayaka herself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this]] after Kyoko's retort:---> '''Kyoko:''' "Having no time to mess around is really weird!"---> '''Sayaka:''' "I've told you before, but the way you say "mess around" is plenty weird!"* DramaticWind: Homura's dramatic hair returns from the anime. And oh lord, is it most certainly ''dramatic'' this time around. One joke says that one could easily rename ''Rebellion'' to ''Homura's Dramatic Hair: The Movie'' and it would still be accurate.* EarnYourHappyEnding: Homura, after being put through so much hell, ''finally'' gets to save Madoka. Heck, even the other characters get in on it: [[spoiler: the movie ends with every single character alive, well and happy, including Nagisa, and Kyubey getting a long-overdue dose of LaserGuidedKarma. Of course, considering [[WellIntentionedExtremist the methods]] Homura used to earn said happy ending, ie breaking Madoka off from the Law of Cycles and erasing everyone's memories without their go-ahead, whether the cost was worth it or not is an argument for the ages.]]** The ending hints at [[spoiler:Homura rewriting the world]] to help the other magical girls as well: [[spoiler:Kyoko and Sayaka seem to be getting along quite well, and Mami is seen with Nagisa.]]** However, there are also implications that [[spoiler:Homura is not truly all that happy with what she has done, given she had to strip Madoka of her freedom and memories, and as a result is without Madoka's approval.]] This potentially adds a new light to her line about [[spoiler:how she and Madoka will become enemies if they continue to follow opposing paths: the selfish and desirable path (Homura) and the selfless and dutiful path (Madoka).]]* EldritchAbomination: Judging from [[spoiler: Homura's]] BreakingSpeech towards Kyubey, either the "magic" they unleashed into the world or indeed human emotions themselves seem to be this.** HumansAreCthulhu: Implied in the anime, with Kyubey claiming that [[HumanityIsInsane human emotion is mental disorder]], and yet his kind manipulates magic that came from emotion, because the magic disobeys the thermodynamic law, which is pretty much illogical for the rationalization they can comprehend. In this movie, not only the do the girls that he seeks to manipulate fight back with sheer force of will and emotion [[spoiler:to the point of betraying their karmic destiny of FateWorseThanDeath in [[FaustianRebellion their]] [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence own]] [[DrivenToSuicide way]], one of them uses ThePowerOfLove ''so hard'' she remakes the reality with the entire Incubator race as her slaves with no way to get out of the situation. Cue mass "I don't get it" from the Incubators.]] * EliteMooks: The Clara Dolls, the strongest of [[spoiler:Homulilly's]] familiars. These 14 (there's a fifteenth, but she's just a poster) SlasherSmile prone familiars have different hairstyles, clothes, and names based on what emotion they express. They have the most scenes together with [[spoiler:Homura]] before, during, and after [[spoiler:her transformation into a Witch]]; when finally they get down to the battlefield, they make their entrance by ripping through the army of [[spoiler:Anthonies]] like it's nothing and clashing with the magical girls on an even ground with their skill and teamwork.* EmpathicEnvironment: [[ExaggeratedTrope To the extreme]]. During Madoka's YouAreNotAlone conversation with Homura, flowers seem to change colors, grow, bloom, wilt, and re-bloom to reflect Homura's feelings. [[spoiler:The environment is ''inside'' [[FisherKing Homura's psyche]], after all.]]* EndOfAnAge: [[spoiler: [[WhamEpisode Madoka's reign as goddess comes to an end.]]]]* EnhancedOnDVD: As expected from SHAFT. The home video release changes and adds to the visuals. Notably, they added a lot of rainbows in places where there previously weren't any.* EpiphanicPrison: We get a haunting and terrifying look at [[spoiler:what becoming a Witch is like ''from the inside''.]]** The trope is actually twisted around a bit. [[spoiler:When Homura realizes that she's in her own Witch's barrier as part of an experiment by the Incubators, she doesn't actually escape. Instead, she lets herself fully transform into her Witch form (Homulilly). It's up to the other magical girls to break Homura out of her partially self-imposed prison.]] The kicker? [[spoiler:Homura, changed by her experiences in her barrier, decides to create a world where the other magical girls live happy, normal lives... essentially putting them in a new Epiphanic Prison!]] The end of the movie also suggests that [[spoiler:[[SelfInflictedHell Homura has basically been in one of these since the anime, and nothing has really helped her escape.]]]]* EverybodyLives: The ending essentially has [[spoiler:Homura hijack the system so hard that she is able to make a world where ''everyone'' lives and leads a happy life. However, Sayaka, telling from her dialogue, prefers Madoka's ending, at least before her memories get erased.]]* EvilWillFail[=/=]HopeSpringsEternal: It's heavily implied at the end that [[spoiler:Madoka will eventually regain her memories and once that happens, she and Homura will most likely become enemies.]]** RayOfHopeEnding: On the one hand, [[spoiler:all the heroes are given LaserGuidedAmnesia and trapped in the equivalent of a LotusEaterMachine]]. On the other hand, it's suggested that this won't last. Not to mention that [[spoiler:everyone is still alive, and everyone but Homura and Kyubey are happy.]]* ExactWords[=/=]LoopholeAbuse: [[spoiler: Madoka wished to erase all witches before they were born. Homulilly exists because she's still in Homura's Soul Gem; in other words, she hasn't been born yet. Similarly, Oktavia and Charlotte were never truly born, but were absorbed into the Law of Cycles along with Sayaka and Nagisa, which is why Sayaka can summon Oktavia and Nagisa can become Charlotte.]]** [[spoiler:She also wished to do so ''with her own two hands''. Hence why she's powerless to do anything when Homura reaches out and grabs her hands just short of the Homura's Soul Gem]].** [[spoiler: If Kyubey can block the Law of Cycles, then why does he keep Homura's Soul Gem from becoming a Grief Seed? Simply put, he can't do one without the other, until he can observe the Law of Cycles.]]** [[spoiler: Homura's wish was to be powerful enough to protect Madoka. Boy, did she get it.]]* {{Expy}}: Design-wise, Nagisa is one to [[Manga/HidamariSketch Yuno and Nazuna]].* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Homura becomes a full-blown [[SatanicArchetype Lucifer-analogue]] by the end of the movie]]* FacelessMasses: Intentionally used [[spoiler:to show the fact that this world is an illusion in a witch's barrier.]]** Oddly enough, Nakazawa, that one poor guy who keeps getting called on by their teacher, is the only character completely irrelevant to the plot of the series as a whole to retain his face.*** Actually, it's foreshadowing: that scene happens at the beginning of the movie, [[spoiler:while the masquerade of the witch barrier is still intact]], and everyone in the class had a face. The crowds start to be represented without a face after a month passes, [[spoiler:just after Homura starts feeling that something is wrong, marking the first cracks in her self-inflicted illusion.]]*** Also, it happens after about a month passes. The cycles in the original anime usually lasted about a month and a half long...* {{Fanservice}}: A lot of elements from fanon are stuffed into the movie, such as the group living a happy life and Charlotte and Kyubey being friendly mascots, though they're all deconstructed and/or played for drama. There's also a load of typical MaleGaze fanservice stuffed in, especially during the first thirty minutes and [[spoiler:with Akuma Homura]].* FakeOutOpening: Of InMediasRes, from the beginning -- "Hmmmm, Sayaka, Madoka and Kyoko are all going to school together? And we're being introduced to a glasses-wearing Homura who said she just woke up from the hospital? And what's this -- all five magical girls are fighting together? Is this taking place in a past Episode 10 alternate timeline?" [[spoiler:Nope, ''the film's a direct series continuation'']].* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:The Incubators are now forced to serve Akuma Homura, or else...]]* FiveManBand: The girls form a very stereotypical one as the Puella Magi Holy Quintet, and continue their team dynamic later on in the movie; however, due to various revelations and character changes, their roles in the team change as well.** As the Puella Magi Holy Quintet:*** TheLeader: Mami*** TheLancer: Sayaka*** TheSmartGuy: Homura*** TheBigGuy: Kyoko*** TheHeart: Madoka*** TeamPet: Kyubey and Bebe** During the [[spoiler:Homulilly]] battle, with the absence of Homura and introduction of Nagisa:*** TheLeader: Sayaka, who [[spoiler:has retained her memories from previous timelines and commands the good familiars.]]*** TheLancer: Kyoko, who serves directly as Sayaka's backup upon her entry, but lacks [[spoiler:the memories and powers from previous timelines]] to function as leader.*** TheSmartGuy and the SixthRanger: Nagisa, who has [[spoiler:also retained her memories from previous timelines.]]*** TheBigGuy: Mami, whose usual leader position has been overtaken by Sayaka [[spoiler:due to Sayaka's much greater knowledge and summoning powers]]. [[spoiler:Oktavia]] can also count, if not as an extension of [[spoiler:Sayaka.]]*** TheHeart: Madoka* FlatCharacter: Most of the characters, except Homura and Kyubey, lack most of the characterization that they are known for in the main series. [[spoiler:Justified, since most of them have had their minds and memories altered [[LotusEaterMachine in order to live their ideal lives,]] with many of their defining characteristics and backstory elements being erased[[note]]Mami, Kyoko, Homura initially[[/note]]. Others are playing along in order to fool Kyubey[[note]]Sayaka, Nagisa[[/note]] or, in Madoka's case, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs entrusting their memories to Sayaka and Nagisa in order to fool Kyubey.]]]] And, since this is only a two-hour movie compared to the anime, there is less time anyway to expand on some of the characters.* {{Flanderization}}:** Unlike in the series, Kyoko's BigEater tendencies are played for laughs and cuteness, and apples are now her TrademarkFavoriteFood rather than one of many. [[spoiler: This is justified; Kyoko has been given FakeMemories.]]** Similarly, Hitomi acts shallow, whiny, and petty, similar to how some fans portray her (though to be fair, the dialogue hints that Kyosuke never spending time with her in favor of his violin practice is a ''very'' recurring problem: an entire month has passed between the time Madoka notes the relationship problems between the two and the point Hitomi actually succumbs to her Nightmare, and it's hinted to have been going on even longer than that. And she actually handled it with a good amount of maturity: she holds her temper, only venting after hanging up rather than bitch at him over the phone) [[spoiler: This is justified for the same reasons as Kyoko, and it also shows just how utterly ridiculous this fan portrayal is.]]** Homura is debatably this. [[spoiler:She is now fixated on Madoka to the point that she loses her sanity, kidnaps and brainwashes most of the cast and later becomes a GodOfEvil due to her love for her. Whether this is in character, how much of this is intentional, and whether at least some part of it is Homura acting, depends on how you view Homura, and how much you've been paying attention to the movie (see {{Foreshadowing}}).]]* {{Foreshadowing}}:** The opening. The girls are all having fun, happy times, playing and generally being cheerful. Then Madoka reaches a hand out to Homura, and as Homura reaches back for her, Madoka turns into sand. Homura falls into despair, kneeling and crying, as the other Puella Magi dance happily (and possibly unaware) around her. And then a black-winged silhouette bursts from Homura's shadow...** Also during the opening, there is a shot of Homura, wearing a long frilly dress that hides her feet. [[spoiler:Late in the shot, she rotates to float upside down, making her resemble Walpurgisnacht - the uber-powerful witch from the series proper - somewhat. [[TomatoInTheMirror Guess what Homura is in the process of becoming during the movie...]]]]** Take a look at the full lyrics of [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Colorful Colorful.]]--->''We laugh together in the cycling time, yet we hold different thoughts\\[[spoiler:So let's start again from scratch\\If I reach out my hand and grab yours\\to keep the fleeting miracle that I reached from collapsing\\Look, you'll stay by my side forever...]]''*** Not to mention that part where it says "You touched my heart and it shined, turning so [[TitleDrop colorful]]". At the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Homura's Soul Gem does indeed turn colorful.]]** Kazuko's discussion about the end of the world approaching. She mentions several ways it might happen. [[spoiler:The "world" ends when Homura's labyrinth collapses, then the whole universe ends when Homura takes control of it, and she mentions to Sayaka that she may destroy it a third time.]]** Each Magical Girl has a different {{Leitmotif}} during their transformation sequence. Homura's is the odd one out, with a wind instrument being the most prominent intrument, rather than the violin that accompanies everyone else. It also sounds kind of sinister.** During the transformation sequence, each Magical Girl has a different dance motif. Homura's is ballet. The first Nightmare fought also likes to do ballet.** Against the first Nightmare, there are details that only Homura should know even after the series' finale; when the Nightmare charges through a door before the magical girls feed it, glimpse of environments from several Witch barriers (Patricia's blue sky and clotheslines might be the most glaring) seen in Homura's OriginsEpisode appear. Also, the left middle finger of the hands that control the Nightmare's movement is covered in some sort of sheath and at its base is a ring. [[spoiler:The magical girls, including Homura, turn their Soul Gem into a ring on their left middle finger. In short, the Nightmare is controlled by a magical girl.]]** Against [[spoiler:Hitomi's]] Nightmare, when Sayaka remarks that Kyosuke is such an ungrateful boyfriend and Kyoko calls her out for being surprisingly cynical, Sayaka says she learns from "experience". In fact, Sayaka in general is a giant foreshadowing; she's calmer and wiser, also carrying herself with confidence and experience that she doesn't possess in the series with none of the angst. [[spoiler:She's one of Ultimate Madoka's heralds that came after being ushered by the Law of Cycles, possessing knowledge of pre-Madoka's wish universe.]]** After [[spoiler:Hitomi's]] Nightmare, all the non-named characters are rendered [[FacelessMasses without a face]], while at the beginning everyone had one. [[spoiler: The fact the shift (marking the first cracks in the illusion) happens only after Homura starts feeling that something isn't right is the first hint that she's somehow connected to said illusionary world, and later that she's the witch generating the barrier.]]** When Homura convinces Kyoko to test her theory by checking Kazamino, in the background there are girls in funeral garb sitting around a street musician in the usual Witch-like cardboard cut-out style. [[spoiler:Not only it's a sign that the story takes place inside a Witch barrier, those girls are Homulilly's elite familiars. Their behaviors are mirroring Homura's state of mind, and most of Homura's true intentions in the ending are coming from them.]]** In the tea party in Mami's house before Homura and Mami have a violent confrontation, when Mami walks to the kitchen to make more tea, you can see her yellow ribbon trailing behind her when she walks behind Homura.** Pay close to attention to what Bebe says - not the subtitles, but the actual sounds she's making - when [[spoiler:Homura begins to interrogate her.]] She clearly starts saying [[spoiler:"Kyubey".]] ** After Homura monologuing her dislike of Mami's StepfordSmiler tendency to hide her fragile mind, and by proxy becomes an obstacle to her mission of saving Madoka, Bebe pleads to her to stop holding her grudge, instead of being clueless like she usually is. [[spoiler:Like Sayaka, Bebe - or Nagisa, to be precise - is another of Ultimate Madoka's heralds.]]** [[spoiler:Homura's]] familiars can be heard chanting "Gott ist tot!", a quote from FriedrichNietzsche about how [[spoiler:humanity killed god and has to become god thyself]]. Cue the end of the movie...** Included in the [[FreezeFrameBonus runes]], [[EasterEgg naturally]]. Not only are the Nightmares' backgrounds full of ballerinas, their accompanying runes spell out [[spoiler:Homulilly as this world's creator.]] During the TransformationSequence, [[spoiler:Homura's runes don't spell out her name, but instead her pleas for death.]]** [[invoked]]The Cake Song. A sweet dream begins when [[spoiler:Madoka is split, like a melon.]] More details on the Fridge page under FridgeBrilliance.** Pay ''very close attention'' to Homura's conversation with Madoka in the flower field. [[spoiler:No, Homura is not upset [[LoveYouAndEverybody Madoka cares about other people]]. Homura is upset to find Madoka never would want to sacrifice herself the way she did at the end of the anime. In fact, she changes her mind about accepting Madoka's sacrifice, which leads to the events at the end of the movie. It becomes especially cruel when you realize that the illusory world's Madoka [[LaserGuidedAmnesia doesn't have the memories of the real one]], and thus doesn't know why she would ever make such a sacrifice when Homura asks her about it.]]* FreezeFrameBonus: After [[spoiler: Homura becomes a demon]], Sayaka can be briefly seen with her fingernail tattoo and soul gem ring still in her hand* FunnyBackgroundEvent:** The background ballerinas accompanying Nightmare [[spoiler: Hitomi]] keep channeling her [[PercussiveTherapy frustration]] by [[GoodOldFisticuffs sparring each other]].** Kyoko makes a happy dance when Mami invites everyone for tea and cake.** Somewhere between funny and unsettling, the new drinking cups that keep appearing on the table between Homura and Kyoko. It's just as possible Kyoko has been continually chugging through their conversation or the nearby, whispering Clara Dolls are trying to keep them pacified.** Mami's upgraded [[FinishingMove Tiro Finale]] is so massive, not only does the mountainous fruit parfait piled on the cannon go [[LawOfInverseRecoil flying]], poor Nagisa ends up [[NonFatalExplosion getting tossed by the blast]]: when next you see her [[spoiler: she has her Bebe face on, with a dazed, googly-eyed expression]].* GainaxEnding: It's a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand it's pretty clear [[spoiler:what Homura has done - she's changed the universe so that Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami and Nagisa would have better lives and second chances.]] On the other hand there's a lot left ambiguous. [[spoiler:What else has Homura changed? Do magical girls still exist? What is Homura planning? Was she right in her actions? And what was going on with TheStinger?]]* GenreSavvy: Homura, of course, but Kyoko to a lesser extent. To explain: the movie starts out in a LighterAndSofter Mitakihara where Homura is her Moemura self, Kyoko goes to school, and all five Puella Magi fight as a FiveManBand with Kyubey and Bebe as mascots. Homura ''knows'' that something's up with this, and that Kyoko differs the most from her main series self. Homura therefore persuades Kyoko to take her to her old hometown, which they are unable to reach by bus or by foot. Both of them conclude that [[spoiler:they're being trapped]]. While Homura is the main progenitor, Kyoko deserves credit too for going against what would presumably be her nature as [[spoiler:a brainwashed victim of the fake Mitakihara.]]** At the same time, it's actually a subversion because Homura makes a lot of really bad decisions. See CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot. [[spoiler: Sayaka actually lectures Homura for some of her bad decisions, and even Homura admits that she could have figured out the truth earlier if she just stopped to think about it. On the other hand, Homura was arguably sabotaging herself since she's the TomatoInTheMirror that had subconsciously trapped everyone.]]* GodOfEvil: [[spoiler:Homura, by the end.]]* GoneHorriblyRight: Kyubey wanted to see what would happen if [[spoiler:he turned Homura into a Witch.]] He got more than he bargained for. Way more.* GratuitousGerman: For those who care to decode the magical runes.* GunFu[=/=]GunKata: The glorious battle between Homura and Mami. Or rather, the glorious battle between Homura and [[spoiler:a Doppelgänger of Mami, made entirely of Mami's ribbons.]]* HannibalLecture: [[spoiler:Kyubey]] gives one to [[spoiler:Homura.]] It wasn't a good idea.** ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:Homura]]'s first response. The second one is much worse... [[spoiler:for Kyubey]]. * HappyEndingOverride: Probably. [[spoiler:Though Homura has stopped Kyubey and the Incubators from doing any other harm, and brought everyone back to life, normal and happy once more; she has effectively become a [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddhist]]-esque version of [[Literature/ParadiseLost Lucifer]], creating a new universe and imprisoning Madoka within it while suppressing Madoka's goddess powers. What changes she's made to the new universe and magical girl system are unknown or left ambiguous.]]* HappyDance:** Homura does one in TheStinger. [[spoiler:Not far from her lies a severely wounded Kyubey, heavily breathing and with clouded eyes.]] ** Kyoko does one at the prospect of tea and cake.* HeadbuttOfLove: Sayaka to Madoka, before Madoka goes to pick up Homura. Madoka also does a similar bump to Homura in the OP.* HeelFaceTurn: Charlotte, or Bebe here. Not only does she play the role of the mascot, but she's also integral in the fight against Nightmare Hitomi. [[spoiler:And then she turns out to be Nagisa, a Puella Magi and a herald of Ultimate Madoka, helping to assist Madoka in fighting against Kyubey.]] Impressive for a [[AscendedExtra one-episode]] OneSceneWonder KnightOfCerebus.** It's an unusual use of the trope, but [[spoiler:Sayaka, being a herald of Ultimate Madoka, gets the ability to use her Oktavia von Seckendorff powers and summons the Witch as something like a GuardianEntity, essentially having her SuperPoweredEvilSide get a HeelFaceTurn.]]* HereWeGoAgain: After the opening credits, we get the latest version of Homura's classroom introduction. The ending BookEnds it with yet ''another'' variation [[spoiler:using Madoka.]]* HijackedByGanon: Repeatedly. At first, the crew battles "Nightmares," which didn't exist in the series. [[spoiler:In reality, they're all in Homura's Witch labyrinth due to yet another Incubator scheme. And by the end, Homura has regained the dubiously antagonistic status she had in the beginning of the series.]]** Subverted by [[spoiler:Nagisa/Charlotte, Homura's first suspect in the Witch hunt. She ''is'' a Witch, but she's one of the good guys this time]].* HijackingCthulhu: [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, Homura is in complete control of the Incubator infrastructure]]. It can be said that the hijacker is also [[HumanoidAbomination a Cthulhu herself]].* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Kyubey, you ''really'' had it coming.* HoldingHands: Sayaka and Kyouko do this during [[spoiler:the Homulily fight.]]* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:After the Incubator seal breaks up and Madoka contacts her, Homulilly's tree-like brain blossoms into a [[CherryBlossoms beautiful sakura tree]], anticipating her imminent salvation and the safe happy ending. Then weird things happen.]]* HourglassPlot: In a disconnected sort of way. By the end, [[spoiler:Homura has become the Devil, and Madoka has become a meek transfer student, just like "Moemura" in both the beginning of the movie and the first timeline of the anime.]]* HumansAreCthulhu: Let's break it down: [[spoiler: The Incubators have great powers but don't really comprehend human emotions, the source of magic and their major fuel source for ending entropy. The Incubators are aliens beyond human comprehension, but are themselves toying around with something beyond THEIR comprehension. Madoka becoming an intangible god was bad enough but Homura turning into an all-too-real devil to rewrite the universe using the power of love pretty much blows their minds. Kyubey says "Human emotions are too dangerous!" in the closest he's come to an emotional breakdown, and if they had no concept of terror before (due to their infinite respawn abilities) they certainly do now, as Homura has infinite power to crush their infinite bodies.]]* {{Hypocrite}}: Homura tells Kyoko to stay low and keep quiet, as to not draw the attention of [[spoiler:the witch and her familiars]]... and then proceeds to take apart her glasses and braids in a very dramatic show. She then goes on to [[spoiler:attack Bebe, the suspected witch, head on, resulting in a climactic battle with Mami that flattens an abandoned church and riddles a large portion of the city with bullet holes.]]* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: [[spoiler:The girl's fight with Homulilly. They don't actually try to attack her; instead they hold off her familiars and attacks while they try to bust through her barrier and Kyubey's isolation field. It works. But whether it worked exactly as it was supposed to is up to debate.]] Earlier, the girls defeat [[spoiler:Hitomi's]] Nightmare in the same manner, with Sayaka calming her down. * InnocentCohabitation: With the escalating HoYay between them, Kyoko living with Sayaka counts as a same-gender example.* InsertSong: When the Puella Magi Holy Quintet begin engaging [[spoiler:Homulilly]], [[http://canta-per-me.net/lyrics/misterioso/ misterioso]] (Mysterious) plays.* IronicEcho: When Madoka made her wish, Kyubey asks if she intends to become a god; she replies by saying she doesn't care what she becomes, as long as her wish gets granted. [[spoiler: Homura says she doesn't care what form she takes, just before she ascends to become Akuma Homura.]]* IronicHell: For [[spoiler:the Incubators in the end -- they are subjected to the despair and tragedy they created -- and arguably for Homura, who finally gained the power to protect Madoka, but seemingly didn't want to acquire this power in such a sadistic and selfish way.]]* {{Irony}}: In the middle of the movie Homura mentally berates [[spoiler: the unknown person who trapped the magical girls in her witch barrier. She thinks that the magical girl responsible abandoned her duty to fight wraiths out of weakness, and is making a farce out of Madoka's sacrifice.]] She even says ThisIsUnforgivable twice. [[spoiler: Soon after, Homura learns that [[TomatoInTheMirror she was the witch all along]]. Then again, Homura never liked herself very much...]] Incidentally, this is also the scene where there are girls throwing tomatoes while shouting "Gott ist tot!" [[spoiler: and it's suggested they're throwing them at a picture of Ultimate Madoka, and/or Homura herself. The implication is that Homura resents Madoka's sacrifice despite talking about how important it was, and regrets letting her do it even though she tries to destroy herself to prevent Kyubey from undoing it.]]** Earlier there's a scene where Sayaka asks Homura if [[spoiler: the witch who created the LotusEaterMachine is such a bad person for wanting to create a world where the five magical girls can be happy. When Homura actually creates this world at the end of the movie, Sayaka is ''furious''.]]** Homura has a moment as she reflects rather condecendingly on the Mami that she knows: always putting on a [[StepfordSmiler strong front]] and pushing herself harder than she should to make up for her crippling loneliness and personal issues. She fights Mami immediately afterwards, [[spoiler: and gets her head handed to her: Mami doesn't HAVE those issues in the illusory world.]]* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Even though it doesn't look like it, there's quite a bit of puzzle pieces floating around...[[ViewersAreGeniuses and the show expects the viewers to put them together afterward.]]* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: One might say this is one of the tricks the movie plays on the viewers. Homura's quest to [[spoiler:break out from the Witch's barrier ends in the realization that [[TomatoInTheMirror she is the Witch in question]]]]. This reveals that Homura's journey to find the truth was actually [[spoiler:a journey through her own subconscious]]. Normally, a journey like this leads to the character finding some great insight about themselves that gives them a positive CharacterDevelopment. Indeed, Homura does learn a great insight about herself... but that insight is that [[spoiler:she can't accept Madoka's sacrifice, and would do ''anything'' to undo it]]. This leads to a negative CharacterDevelopment where [[spoiler:Homura accepts her true desire and works to make it a reality.]]* KickTheDog: Kyubey to [[spoiler:Homura.]] He gets a suitable punishment for it later.* KickTheSonOfABitch: Hands up who thought Kyubey and his fellow Incubators fully deserved that.* KnightOfCerebus: Surprisingly, Homura is this despite acting as a heroic character [[spoiler: at first]]. As soon as she takes off her glasses and adopts her {{Badass}} AntiHero persona, the movie's tone shifts dramatically and slowly starts its descent downhill.* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Kyoko and Mami in the dream world, with Sayaka and Nagisa playing along to fool Kyubey. In the new universe at the end, Akuma Homura does this to everyone; including Sayaka and Madoka. It happens slowly for Sayaka, and Akuma Homura implies it will fade into WistfulAmnesia. Madoka also seems "normal"... but then her eyes turn gold. Akuma Homura quickly puts a stop to it.]]* LateArrivalSpoiler: In addition to promo blurbs spoiling the anime's ending, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-12/3rd-madoka-magica-film-blu-ray-to-have-english-subtitles a blu-ray trailer]] released ''while the movie was still playing in Japan'' blatantly reveals the big twist at the end of the movie [[spoiler:(Homura turning on Madoka and becoming a demon)]].** Not to mention this being splashed all over all the magazines and official art now.* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Mami actually hums "[[{{Leitmotif}} Credens Justitiam]]" at one point.* {{Leitmotif}}: Each magical girl preserves her own theme song; most notably, they all are given a ThemeMusicPowerUp in the TransformationSequence, turning originally somber themes like Sayaka's "Decretum" and originally darker themes like Kyoko's "Anima Mala" into something more soaring and triumphant.* LeftHanging: See SequelHook.* LighterAndSofter: It's easy to cite the first half as thus, and for good reason, but arguably ''the entire movie'' is lighter and softer. [[spoiler: While the second half starting from the reveal that the world is a LotusEaterMachine isn't what one could call light-hearted, and has more than its fair share of Tear Jerkers and Nightmare Fuel, it never hits the level of 'miserably hopeless' that the anime did. Just compare the fight against Walpurgis and the fight against Homulily. While Walpurgis had a lone Magical Girl fighting what everyone more or less knew was a hopeless battle, complete with ominous, downbeat music, Homulily is on the receiving end of what could almost be called a '''CurbStompBattle''' by multiple Magical Girls working in sync, with upbeat, triumphant music. For a moment, it looked as if the only one to die in the movie would be Homura, and while her death would have landed the story a BittersweetEnding, she would have ascended to Heaven with Madoka had it played out as intended: a ''much'' better fate than turning into a witch. And while the morality of Akuma Homura's actions are ambiguous at best, it's hard to argue with all the characters PLUS Nagisa alive and well and the previously-untouchable Kyubey reduced to a quivering wreck. It actually makes a bit of sense the more one thinks about it: unlike the anime, in the movie the good guys have the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Hope backing them up.]]* LotusEaterMachine:** [[spoiler:Most of the movie takes place inside Homura's MentalWorld, facilitated by Kyubey and his fellow Incubators. Mami and Kyoko are real, however, as Homura's imaginary world is a Witch Barrier. Additionally, Madoka, Sayaka and Nagisa--the latter two being dead magical girls (Ultimate Madoka's heralds) Madoka brought along as backup--also entered this world to help Homura. According to Kyubey, those who get sucked into this world get to live the lives they longed for, hence the LighterAndSofter FakeOutOpening.]]*** [[spoiler: The fact that Homura's barrier contains varying kinds of {{fanservice}} suggests that it is a Lotus Eater Machine for the ''[[TakeThatAudience fans]]'' as well.]]** [[spoiler:The world Homura creates at the end of the movie, despite being "real", is suggested to be one of these--at least in the [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddhist]] sense. Emphasized by the [[CypherLanguage runes]] that appear before the credits; they translate to "Who is dreaming?" (Although in the home video release this was changed to "Who has dreamt?")]]* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Homura's love for Madoka drives her to basically become the devil.]]* Subverted with Bebe/Charlotte. Homura suspects that Bebe is the witch in whose barrier the entire film takes place—until [[spoiler: Homura discovers that she is the witch herself.]] * MayanDoomsday: The subject of one of Kazuko's rants.* MeaningfulName: The movie title, ''Rebellion'' refers to several things in the movie. Firstly Homura rebelling against this bizarre non-world, secondly [[spoiler:the magical girls rebelling against the Incubators]], but thirdly (and most importantly) [[spoiler:Homura rebelling against Madoka's wish made at the end of the anime, because she can't accept life without Madoka]].* MemoryGambit: [[spoiler:Ultimate Madoka entrusts her memories to Sayaka and Nagisa in order to fly under Kyubey's radar, as the trio carry out their mission to save Homura.]] She succeeds.** TransferableMemory: [[spoiler:Later, Madoka's memories (and goddess powers) are separated from her person by Homura in order to imprison her.]]* MentalWorld: [[spoiler:The peaceful, happy Mitakihara is actually all a dream of a comatose Homura, thanks to Kyubey's meddling.]]* MentorMascot: Kyubey has become this. He's cute, he's cuddly, he's helpful and he cares about the girls. [[spoiler:It's all part of the act.]]* MillionMookMarch: [[spoiler:The Homu-army.]]* MindRape: [[spoiler:It's suggested Homura does this to Kyubey in TheStinger.]]* MindScrew: The original series featured a mostly understandable though still complex plot with somewhat screwy EldritchLocation[=s=] and a few other scenes of bizarre imagery. Rebellion features nigh-''the entire movie'' being filled with strange and confusing visual effects and not-quite-symbolism with some ''really'' weird representations of Homura's psychology.* MoodWhiplash: As described above in {{Foreshadowing}}, the opening. Starts off light, happy and fluffy, and then Homura falls into despair, turning the opening depressing and foreboding. * TheMovie: The final part of the trilogy of movies.* MythologyGag** It is implied that Mami makes everyone [[CallingYourAttacks call their attacks]] in battle.** Kyoko came from a neighboring town Kasamino[=/=][[SpellMyNameWithAnS Kazamino]], which only named from side materials. The town is consistently said to be a small town scarce of prey, the main reason why Kyoko moves in to Mitakihara.** Mami's pose at the end of her TransformationSequence is the same as her [[TheMerch Wave swimsuit figure]], except one arm. It may also be a ShoutOut to fellow MagicalGirlWarrior [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Mars]].** Kyoko has yet to use [[DoppelgangerAttack Rosso Fantasma]] in animated format, but her transformation sequence does create hypnotic duplicates of herself.** [[spoiler:Homulilly wears the record player witch hat from her first design in [[PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable Madoka Portable]], but she soon discards it.]]** An AllThereInTheManual [[http://wiki.puella-magi.net/100_Questions interview]] reveals that one of Madoka's least favorite subjects is English. [[spoiler: In the new world created at the end of the movie, Madoka was living in America for three years.]]* NeverTrustATrailer: An early trailer showed Homura [[DrivenToSuicide putting a gun to her head.]] This was topped when a later trailer showed Homura breaking her own Soul Gem ''in her mouth''. The first instance was a fake out, while the second was even less trustworthy. The scene in the trailer showed [[spoiler:Homura's Soul Gem colored purple, but when that scene happens in the movie proper the Soul Gem is... tripping colors.]] This was probably to hide the context of the scene, [[spoiler:where Homura becomes the devil itself.]]* NiceJobBreakingItHero** You just had to [[spoiler:tell your SufficientlyAdvancedAlien {{Archenemy}} about the Witches, especially when he says that he'd rather have the Witches than the Wraiths, didn't you Homura?]] Possibly Averted if Kyuubey can read minds (he is telepathic), and knew already.** If only the other Puella Magi hadn't [[spoiler:saved Homura from her Witch form Homulilly]], and [[spoiler:killed her like she wanted]], then Homura wouldn't have had to [[spoiler:force her hand and take over Ultimate Madoka in the ending]].* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Oh, Kyubey... you ''almost'' feel sorry for him by this point. [[spoiler:The movie makes it ''twice'' that he's ended up shooting himself in the foot, and this time makes Madoka's {{Wishplosion}} from the anime look like a mere slap on the wrist!]]* NotQuiteSavedEnough: Played with.** In case of [[spoiler:Madoka]]: [[spoiler:Homura's mission is to save Madoka from being manipulated by the Incubators. While Madoka has become an abstract concept and thus out of the Incubators' reach, she must interact with magical girls to save their soul. During the events of the movie, Homura learns that the Incubators might figure out how to trap Madoka the concept and exploit her again, and she comes to believe Madoka is not actually happy with being a magical girl messiah. She then takes drastic measures to make sure Madoka is saved for all eternity. This includes hijacking the Incubators and damning herself from Madoka's grace. If she has to [[AndIMustScream keep being the Devil/the Mara/the Demiurge forever]], ''[[YouAreWorthHell so be it]]'']].** In case of [[spoiler:Homura]]: [[spoiler:Knowing that the Incubators are trying to exploit Homura's dying to trap her, Madoka goes with her heralds to manipulate events inside Homura's mental world to avoid Incubators' trap while still saving Homura. They succeed, but they certainly don't expect ''Homura'' of all person to hijack the proceeding]]...* NotUsingTheZWord: Inverted. The girls had always been "{{magical girl}}s," but this movie is the first time someone in the show has actually spoken the words [[CallARabbitASmeerp "puella magi."]] Probably a gentle nudge at the fanbase.* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Where do we start? [[spoiler:Homura overthrows Ultimate Madoka, changes her into a normal schoolgirl again, then rewrites the universe and forces the Incubators to do her bidding.]]* ObfuscatingStupidity: Both Kyubey and Bebe act like cute little simple-minded pets, for different reasons [[spoiler:in order to avoid looking suspicious in the happy-sappy dream world]]. Due to how distractingly different he acts, it's easy to miss that Kyubey is [[spoiler:sticking to Madoka like glue.]] Likewise, Bebe snarling at him blends in with all her other random, simple-minded actions.** When Homura asks Mami about when Bebe came to her, Bebe is worried. This is also the first time the movie has a full-screen close-up of Kyubey to show [[ParanoiaFuel he is listening]].* ObsessionSong: [[https://wiki.puella-magi.net/Kimi_no_Gin_no_Niwa "Kimi no Gin no Niwa"]] (Your Silver Garden) is simultaneously full of IHaveYouNowMyPretty and IDidWhatIHadToDo. [[spoiler:A perfect expression of Homura's feelings and how she can't truly be happy knowing her victory came at the expense of Madoka's own freedom.]]* OffscreenAfterlife: [[spoiler:None of the deceased characters remember what it's like in Madoka's MagicalGirl valhalla. This is due to Akuma Homura's machination in the new world.]] Well, it's not like said characters talk about the afterlife prior to that anyway.** Reading between the lines, it's implied that [[spoiler: Madoka's afterlife isn't some alternate plane of existence; [[YourSoulIsMine the magical girls and their witches literally become part of Madoka.]]]] * OhCrap: TONS.** An amusing example when Hitomi's Nightmare starts throwing off huge cartoon sweat drops as the Cake Song nears its end and it realizes it's about to be defeated.** Homura has Mami dead to rights after their battle, and decides to shoot her in the leg to incapacitate her. She does so, [[spoiler: and [[DoppelgangerSpin 'Mami']] explodes in a tornado of ribbons. Homura has enough time to panic and fire uselessly into them before she's bound head to foot.]]** Sayaka throws Homura off guard by quickly turning around to face her, interrupting her own monologue, and [[spoiler:jamming her sword into her buckler to prevent her from stopping time]]. Homura looks truly fearful when she sees that Sayaka has her completely defenseless.** A tremendous one from Homura when [[spoiler: [[AmnesiacGod Madoka]] tells her that she would never want to hurt her friends by leaving them behind. Up to this point, Homura was honoring her friend's sacrifice because she believed it made Madoka happy, though she herself was not entirely okay with it: as long as Madoka was happy, Homura would be content. With this revelation, Homura realizes that she completely and utterly failed in her mission, and as far as she could tell there was ''nothing'' she could do about it. The look on her face is [[TearJerker gutwrenching]].]]** [[spoiler:Kyubey]] sees his entire plan going awry thanks to [[spoiler:Homura]] and is ''terrified''. And for him, it only goes worse from here...** [[spoiler:Ultimate Madoka herself as she realizes what's about to happen to her courtesy of Homura.]]** Sayaka gets one when [[spoiler:Akuma Homura erases [[SummonMagic Oktavia]], her ace in the hole, along with all her memories, by simply clapping her hands.]]* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Although not explicitly stated, this is basically what [[spoiler:Sayaka and Nagisa are for Ultimate Madoka]], and it's implied this is true for [[spoiler:every magical girl taken by the Law of Cycles.]]** Notably, [[spoiler: Homura [[RefusingParadise rejects becoming one of Madoka's angels]] and transforms into a demon, deciding [[Literature/ParadiseLost it is better to reign in Hell]] [[WholePlotReference than serve in Heaven.]]]]* OutOfGenreExperience: The opening puts all the characters in a straight MagicalGirlWarrior series. The five girls proclaim themselves to be the "Puella Magi Holy Quintet" in GratuitousEnglish, Kyubey talks in PokemonSpeak, and Charlotte has become another mascot the characters call Bebe (though she still has use of her caterpillar form, making her as deadly as ever). [[spoiler:Although all the girls and Bebe (who is actually Nagisa) are real, this all happens inside Homura's dream world within her Soul Gem, and sets the ''real'' events of the movie into motion.]]* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:Even after Akuma Homura rebuilds the universe, erases everyone's memories and does offensive things to spite her former friends[[note]]alienating Sayaka from Madoka, breaking a teacup within Mami's earshot, and making her familiars waste Kyoko's apple[[/note]], she has Kyoko go to school again, just as she did in the fake universe. And like in the fake universe, Kyoko isn't as grumpy or cynical as she was in the original series, even after her HeelFaceTurn. She also restores Nagisa to life and arranges Mami to meet her so Mami can have a companion. Finally, she is able to uphold Sayaka's wish, allowing Kyosuke to keep his healed hand like Sayaka wanted, while Sayaka herself is restored to life. All this is in everyone's best interests, Akuma Homura's included (her motive is to keep them from rebelling against her new system).]]* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Homura becomes this at the end of the movie. Unlike Ultimate Madoka, she continues to exist, and watches over her new world in the guise of a human being.]]* ThePlan: [[spoiler:Kidnap a depressed girl. Lure her friend, the goddess, to save the girl. Kidnap the goddess. Bring back the good old system.]] Harvest more energy than ever before. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong [[spoiler: [[HumiliationConga EVERYTHING.]]]]* PlatonicCave: [[spoiler: Homura's entire barrier is essentially this. The new world she creates could be considered one as well.]]* PokemonSpeak: Kyubey can only say "Kyu", [[spoiler:because he's ObfuscatingStupidity]].* PoorCommunicationKills: Oh ye gods. [[spoiler: Homura's decision to undo Madoka's sacrifice comes from her misunderstanding what she means when she says she would never want to be apart from everyone she loves. Ultimate Madoka ''isn't'' apart from everyone she loves, they just can't see her unless they join her in her magical girl Valhalla, but Homura takes it to mean that Madoka ''didn't want'' to make that sacrifice in the first place. On the other hand, during the end of the anime when Homura asked Madoka if she was alright with being forgotten about, Madoka never really answered yes or no (though the implication was that she would willingly bear with it to save people). Also, Madoka's speech in the flower field can be interpreted as not wanting to hurt anyone by abandoning them. After all, she's with them, but they aren't with her. There's a lot of ambiguity here, and Homura, true to form, unfortunately only sees the negatives of the situation without really grasping the positives.]]* PosthumousCharacter: Madoka and Sayaka, having moved on in the anime itself - their coming back from the dead in the movie is one of the main mysteries in the story. [[spoiler:And it turns out that Nagisa, disguised as Bebe, is one also.]]* ThePowerOfLove: A deconstruction as [[spoiler: it is what corrupts Homura's soul gem and turns her into a [[GodOfEvil Goddess of Evil.]]]]* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Averted. [[spoiler:Homura creates a [[TimeStandsStill frozen cloud]] of chunky salsa from shooting herself in the head.]]* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: The movie pretty much turns the entire series into this for none other than [[spoiler:Homura.]]** One interpretation is that [[spoiler: Homura was always opposing Madoka, even throughout the anime. Certainly, Homura opposed Madoka's desire to be a magical girl, and was willing to keep Madoka from making choices that would make her unhappy. The end of ''Rebellion'' simply takes this to the extreme.]]* PsychoLesbian** Homura's deep devotion to Madoka drives her to [[spoiler:become the devil itself... using ThePowerOfLove]].** Inverted for Sayaka, who has none of the emotional issues she had in the anime, and has mass amounts of ShipTease with Kyoko, with their relationship becoming more healthy and friendly. The same also goes for Kyoko herself, since she's kinder, less savage and less sadistic than in the anime.* PullTheThread: Homura noticing minor, inconsistent details and investigating them [[spoiler:is what begins her process of discovering the LotusEaterMachine nature of the fake Mitakihara.]]* RecurringRiff: "Mada Dame Yo"[[note]]"Not Yet"[[/note]], the song that plays at the beginning when the magical girls feed the Nightmare. Variations of the theme can be heard at several points the movie [[spoiler:including TheStinger.]]** DarkReprise: An sinister accordion based version of the theme plays when [[spoiler: Homulilly begins her march through the city.]]* RedHerring** Despite all the pre-release hype surrounding the Nightmares, [[spoiler:they aren't the true villains - they're simply Witch-like creatures that live within Homura's dream world.]]** Homura mistook [[spoiler:Bebe for being the string-puller behind the fake world--actually a Witch's barrier--as the latter resembles Charlotte, a Witch.]]** In fact, deception is one of the major themes of the movie. For example, [[spoiler: Mami deceives Homura with a ribbon duplicate, Sayaka and Nagisa spend the movie deceiving Kyubey, Homura is deceiving herself by being unaware she's in her own barrier, Kyubey is trying to deceive everyone else, and so on.]] It only makes sense that the biggest deceptions are the ones played on the viewer.* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Unlike in the series, both Kyubey and Bebe act just as cute and friendly as they look. Guess which one's evil and which one's good. [[spoiler:Kyubey's evil, as always, while Bebe is actually Nagisa, and is good.]]* TheReveal: Kyubey is back to his old tricks. [[spoiler:The movie takes place in Homura's Witch barrier, with primarily brainwashed characters sucked into the Soul Gem by Homura's subconscious, and is attempting to bring back the old Witch system of the anime.]]* RuleOfThree-->'''Homura:''' "There are three people here that should not exist. The first is the [[spoiler:witch who created this labyrinth]]. The second is [[spoiler:Bebe]], who remains in the form [[spoiler:of a witch]]. And the third, you, who remembers the [[spoiler:existence of witches]]. Who are you? Are you really [[spoiler:Sayaka Miki]]?"* SatanicArchetype: As noted in the WholePlotReference section, [[spoiler:Homura fits the bill pretty strongly, but takes after [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Mara]] and/or [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} the Demiurge]] more than she does Lucifer.]]* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: While most of the main cast plays this straight (just like in the series), Kyoko subverts this by changing back into her casual outfit later on in the movie [[spoiler:after discovering the true nature of fake world]], and Nagisa completely averts the trope.* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Oh Kyubey, if only you decided that [[spoiler:humans emotions are way too dangerous for you to manipulate a bit earlier. Now you are forced to serve a PhysicalGod who hates you wholeheartedly.]] * SecondaryCharacterTitle: Though Madoka is still an important and pivotal character in the movie, ''Rebellion'' is clearly Homura's story this time around.* SekaikeiGenre: [[spoiler: Reality itself is rewritten several times as a result of Madoka and Homura's relationship.]]* SequelHook: As with the anime's ending, the ending is open-ended enough to lead to any kind of continuation--possibly even more so, since it's significantly more ambiguous, and multiple characters (as well as many fans) either don't want or don't expect it to really end like this.* SillyMeGesture: Madoka does this (minus the tongue) when Mami admonishes the group for fighting too recklessly.* SlasherSmile: [[spoiler:Homura]] has become a master of this, especially by the end of the film. Kyoko also pulls a couple at times.* ShaggyDogStory: Well... kind of. [[spoiler: One one hand pretty much all of the important events of the series, the deaths, Sayaka's contract, Madoka's wish, and the like have all been rendered null by the end of the movie: it's right back to the beginning of the month, everyone is alive, Madoka is a normal highschool student and its even implied that Sayaka isn't a Magical Girl anymore either. On the other hand, there ARE some key changes: Madoka is the transfer student instead of Homura, Sayaka doesn't even KNOW Madoka anymore, Homura is some manner of super-powerful being never before seen, Kyubey has pretty much been rendered toothless, the Witches appear to be gone for good, and a new character has been brought back from the dead entirely and apparently added to the crew: Nagisa, shown hanging out with Mami at the end.]]* ShootTheBullet: Turned UpToEleven in the Mami vs Homura battle, where about half of the shots fired collide with other shots. Made a little more plausible since a majority of the fight takes place while time is stopped. Still doesn't explain how they're able to so consistently hit such small targets [[ImprobableAimingSkills with weapons that weren't designed for that level of accuracy.]]* ShoutOut:** AllThereInTheManual shows that [[spoiler:Homulilly and her familiars]] reference ''Literature/TheNutcracker'', of all things.** The "Puella Magi Holy Quintet" references the "Magica Quartet" used as a codename for the main creators.** At one point Homura shouts "[[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Release!]]" when stopping time.** [[spoiler:Akuma Homura's]] SlasherSmile looks very similar to a certain [[BlackButler popular demon's.]]** [[spoiler:Ultimate Madoka's descendance to collect Homura's soul, alongside her heralds Sayaka and Nagisa in a charriot]] reminds you of [[Literature/TheDivineComedy Beatrice's]], in orden to meet Dante in Terrenal Paradise and escort him and guide him to Heaven.* SoundtrackDissonance: [[spoiler:Akuma Homura's TransformationSequence has a theme that's a bit too upbeat for someone declaring herself a demon.]]* TheStinger: A bit of a strange one. [[spoiler:Homura is seen dancing in a field, with Kyubey in a heavily weakened and beaten state. He also looks like he's been {{Mind Rape}}d.]]* SubvertedKidsShow: The opening is essentially an episode of a children's magical girl show played straight, with a few tip-offs to the viewer here and there and much of the LighterAndSofter elements consisting of {{Fanservice}}.* SummonMagic / GuardianEntity** [[spoiler:Sayaka now can summon Oktavia to do her bidding. After coming back to life thanks to Homura at the end of the movie, she tries to do it again, but Akuma Homura erases both the Witch and Sayaka's memories.]]** During the climactic battle [[spoiler:Sayaka and Nagisa summon an entire army of familiars [[AllThereInTheManual borrowed from the other Witches]]. The Anthonies are wearing the fins/scales of Oktavia rather than Gertrud's butterfly wings.]]* SuperLoser: Even the runes state that [[spoiler:Homulilly]] is a "good-for-nothing" and a "laughing stock".* SuperMode / VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[spoiler:Nagisa appears to be capable of doing this using Charlotte, manifesting her face and gaining the ability to, what else, devour her opponents.]]* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler: During the movie, Homura realizes that the world she is in is an illusion, which she can't accept. But during her attempt to break out of the illusion, she discovers that she can't accept the reality outside it either. So just when everyone thinks everything will be finally all right, Homura decides to fix reality the way she wants and becomes the GodOfEvil Akuma Homura, imprisoning Madoka and suppressing her goddess powers with a really creepy smile on her face.]]* TakeThatAudience: The entire OutOfGenreExperience can be read as a ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''-esque attack on the fanbase, given how similar it seems to many, many {{Fan Work}}s. [[spoiler: The attack comes from the fact that the whole thing is both completely ridiculous and utterly fake (since it's really an illusion created by a witch). The ending of the movie almost seems to be a {{deconstruction}} of {{Fix Fic}}s that try to create a happier ending for the original anime.]]* TeamSpirit: Instead of fighting solo, all girls fight Nightmares together in perfect synchronization. [[spoiler:Later on, they do the same to save Homura from killing herself.]]** Keep in mind that the five magical girls were deliberately never shown fighting together in the anime; they never even appeared on screen at the same time (except in later versions of the TitleSequence).* TechnicolorEyes** Even with some of the girls' already strange eye colours, the new Puella Magi Nagisa has eyes that seem to be yellow on the inside and red on the outside.** [[spoiler:Hitomi]] has yellow and green eyes in her incompletely restored, blob-like state after becoming a Nightmare.*** SupernaturalGoldEyes: Both partially have these.* ThouShaltNotKill: They may have mercy-killed friends in other timelines, but neither Mami nor Homura can stomach dealing fatal injuries outside those circumstances. Even as [[FriendlyEnemy enemies]] emptying a munitions factory at each other, they will sooner [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen give up advantages]] than go down that road.* TimeStandsStill: As Homura and Mami battle, causing their bullets to freeze in the air after a short distance. The effect is similar to BulletTime except all the ammunition continuously accumulates into [[BulletHell ornate patterns]].* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: Homura's BatmanGambit to release herself from Mami's ribbon is to shoot herself in the head. Of course, since the magical girls in this series can survive anything as long as their Soul Gem is unharmed, Homura's only on her knees and panting for several seconds before being able to move around properly again.* TokenMiniMoe: Nagisa, who is still in elementary school, unlike her middle school-aged companions. * TookALevelInBadass** Mami. She's capable of fighting on par with Homura and, aside from new tricks with ribbons, she's added several new guns to her arsenal: pistols, what looks like a sawed-off shotgun, and an even larger cannon. But her biggest boost is a mental one. Having lost her FatalFlaw, she has become far more level-headed and hard to catch off guard, creating [[CrazyPrepared countermeasures within countermeasures]] on the fly. Homura learned this the hard way. She may insist on [[SuperSentaiStance everybody dancing and posing]] but the team goes with her plans for [[TheStrategist a reason]].** Sayaka also seems to have gained a lot of experience and is less brash than she used to be, [[spoiler:mainly because she retains her memories of her past timeline selves. She even anticipates and prevents Homura from freezing time. She's also packing a new SummonMagic: her Witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff.]]** [[spoiler:By the end, Homura is the God of the new world.]]* TookALevelInKindness** Kyoko now acts like a typical (albeit slackerish) schoolgirl and is good pals with Madoka and Sayaka, [[spoiler:which is the result of getting brainwashed by the imaginary world]]. She is just opportunistic enough to be a mooch and cynical enough to suspect their situation. While she shows signs of reverting to her old self after [[spoiler:finding out that the true nature of the fake world]], she also displays concern for [[spoiler:Homura]], at least [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold in private]].** Charlotte the Dessert Witch, who is now Mami's adorable pet Bebe, and helpful in battle. [[spoiler:Mainly because she turns out to be a magical girl in disguise.]]* TrademarkFavoriteFood** The majority of the scenes with Bebe has her eating cheese, asking for cheese or chewing on something yellow she thought was cheese. She's also visibly excited at Mami's joke that if Bebe keeps eating that much, she'll turn into cheese herself! [[spoiler:This continues into her human form.]]** Apples for Kyoko.* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler:The appearance of Nagisa Momoe is treated by the film as a big surprise. Not to mention the number of blatant hints that she was Charlotte.]]* TransformationSequence: All girls have their own, based on different dance styles. The show portrays this as a big deal, and it kind of is--this is the first time we see all five magical girls transform at once.* TwoPartTrilogy: An inversion. The first two films were [[CompilationMovie a theatrical adaptation of the tv series.]] This film is a sequel to the series.* TheUnintelligible** Bebe. Luckily we have two sets of subtitles to translate what she's saying: normal ones on the bottom of the screen, and a constant stream of kanji in bubbles that spews from her mouth when she speaks. ** Averted for [[spoiler:Homulilly, who speaks intelligibly (and is the first Witch seen doing so, at that.)]]* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Nobody questions Homura's removing of her glasses and braids, despite it being so incredibly obvious.** At one point, Homura's face is smeared with blood after the [[spoiler:Homura versus Mami]] incident. She meets up with Madoka and tries to rub it off with her hands, but fails to clean her face off entirely. Madoka doesn't notice the blood at all.* UnwantedRescue: [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice Homura]]]] doesn't want to be saved and doing so has [[CameBackWrong consequences]]. One of which is a second unwanted rescue on [[spoiler:Madoka from her duties]].* ViewersAreGeniuses: Needless to say, the film trusts that the audience pays attention to the dialogue and allusions throughout the story, as it makes the ending ''much'' more understandable if they do.** There are also some elements that are implied but not explicitly stated. For example, if the viewer doesn't realize that [[spoiler: [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll Kyubey's Isolation Field is implicitly blocking Madoka's omniscience]]]], it creates the perception of a PlotHole.* ViralTransformation: When [[spoiler:Homura becomes a witch]], we're treated to her perspective of it, making this the first time in the series we've seen [[spoiler:a witch transformation in full. It starts with a vacant witch barrier and familiars sneaking around before the victim realizes she's a witch, at which point the barrier becomes filled with the ArtShift-y representation of her mind. The turning Puella Magi then gets ATasteOfPower and an EvilCostumeSwitch, having full control of her actions and her familiars for a little while - in this case, Homura uses it to [[CurbStompBattle flay multiple Kyubey bodies]]. The witch's power grows gradually more chaotic until ultimately, the Puella Magi's body just ''[[BodyHorror breaks down]]'', melting away into the witch barrier and reemerging as [[EldritchAbomination a witch proper]], having some last moments of lucidity before [[AndIMustScream her mind is locked away]] and her new body begins its rampage.]]* VisualPun: As the heroes finish cleansing the Nightmare from [[spoiler:Hitomi]], her mind is represented by a [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickeningly cute]] amorphous head. In other words, a [[{{Moe}} moeblob]].* WeirdMoon: Much like a lot of things [[spoiler:in the world created by Homura, the moon is incomplete to signify she herself does not feel complete without Madoka's approval.]] It's shown to be only one half of what it used to be in the post-credits [[TheStinger stinger]].* WistfulAmnesia: [[spoiler:In Akuma Homura's new world, she turns Sayaka into one of these. Madoka seems amnesiac from the beginning, but then her eyes flicker gold, before Akuma Homura puts a stop to that too.]]* WholePlotReference** As the series was littered with allusions to ''{{Faust}}'', the film plays out like [[spoiler:''Literature/ParadiseLost'']] [[RecycledINSPACE but with]] [[MagicalGirl Magical Girls]].** The film roughly follows the same layout as the anime. It starts off light and fluffy, similar to a generic MagicalGirl anime, [[spoiler:then turns darker and grittier as the story goes on. Kyubey is revealed to be working behind the scenes; one of the Puella Magi has a progressing breakdown before turning into a witch herself, with the others gathering to attempt to save her from her state, though here this is combined with the arrival of "final boss" Witch--complete with a countdown. And at the end, a Puella Magi rises to goddess levels and overturns the previous system, creating a new one in its place, for better or worse.]]* WhosLaughingNow: [[spoiler:Homura, after showing Kyubey his place in her new universe. As her slave.]]* WolverinePublicity: Walpurgisnacht got a themed soft drink for the movie, despite not even appearing in it (though one of her elephant familiars did appear at one point).* WhamLine: All from [[spoiler:Homura.]]-->[[spoiler:'''Homura:''']] "I'm sure that this place [[spoiler:is a Witch's barrier.]]"-->[[spoiler:'''Homura:''']] "Since when did I [[spoiler:become a Witch?]]"** And, of course, the game-changing line from the ending of the movie:--->'''[[spoiler:Homura:]]''' "[[spoiler:Finally... I caught you.]]"* [[WhamEpisode Wham Movie]]: [[UpToEleven The magnum opus of Wham in a series filled with them.]] [[spoiler:Homura becomes a Demon, suppresses Madoka's powers, takes over the universe, gains control over the Incubators, resurrects everyone, traps Madoka in her personal utopia and tells her that unless she stops being so selfless and duty-following they'll become enemies.]] All in ''less'' than ''thirty minutes''.* WhamShot: One rather early on, in fact. The sight of Charlotte the Dessert Witch relaxing on Mami's shoulder during the feeding of the first Nightmare is the first tip that this isn't the Madoka Magica we've come to know.** During Homura's confrontation with Sayaka, [[spoiler:Homura realizes that Sayaka shouldn't exist and asks who she is. Sayaka insists that she's exactly who Homura thinks she is. Cue the sky darkening and Oktavia appearing in the puddle they're standing on...]]* YinYangBomb: [[spoiler:Being part of the Law of the Cycles, Sayaka and Nagisa, in addition to having magical girl powers, can also use their witch forms (the former [[SummonMagic by summoning Oktavia]], the latter by [[OneWingedAngel turning into Charlotte]].]]* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:After the Incubators' plan is thwarted and Ultimate Madoka is about to take Homura to heaven... Homura suddenly becomes the demonic RealityWarper Akuma Homura, upending Ultimate Madoka's universe and revoking her godhood (possibly only temporarily, however).]]* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: One of many indications that [[spoiler:something isn't right about Mitakihara]].

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->[[spoiler:''So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear. Farewell remorse; all good to me is lost. Evil, be thou my good.'']]->[[spoiler:''Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.'']]